From Minecraft to LittleBigPlanet to N++, any game that allows players to generate their own content inevitably spawns a procession of creations meant to emulate Super Mario Bros.’ World 1-1, the most recognizable level in the world’s most iconic sidescrolling platformer.
Super Mario Maker for Wii U lets would-be Shigeru Miyamotos perform this creative task yet again, only this time using official Nintendo assets. And maybe in less time than it takes do a proper Super Mario Bros.’ speed-run. Indeed, Super Mario Maker might well be the most accessible game maker ever encountered. Simply select elements from a palette at the top of a screen and drag them onto your course to either place them or begin painting with them. You can create a fun, simple course in just a couple of minutes, or a more complex and challenging course in perhaps half an hour, pausing to playtest whenever you like.
You’ll start off with just a handful of elements – bricks, question blocks, super mushrooms, goombas, etc. – as well the ability to switch between outdoor and dungeon themes and visual styles based on Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros. U. This keeps things from becoming overwhelming. As you continue designing you’ll gradually earn more and more elements, themes, and visual styles with which to design. You’ll master one set of goodies just in time to begin playing with another. It’s a smart system that makes designing levels appealing to players of just about any demographic. A kindergartner could potentially have as much fun creating as a seasoned platformer player.
Much like the tools it contains, Super Mario Maker‘s presentation is an exercise in simplicity and efficiency. From the main menu you can choose to either jump into the editing module or head over to the course world, where you can browse levels, look up specific makers, or play “10 Mario” or “100 Mario” challenges in which you have 10 or 100 lives to beat a random collection of player-made courses at various skill levels.
It might seem small and perhaps even insubstantial on the surface, but it offers nearly limitless creative potential as well as a virtually endless selection of player-made courses to try. It’s not going to be Nintendo’s next Super Smash Bros., but Super Mario Maker is something close to essential for anyone who’s ever played a Super Mario Bros. game and thought: You know, I think I could do that.
Players have so much control that they can make levels in ways the series’ actual developers never thought of. They can block off access to the axe at the end of Bowser’s bridge so players have to work harder to get to it, then still have more to do after they’ve made it past the king of the koopas, overcoming even more obstacles while avoiding his pesky and lingering fire breath. They can make 10-goomba stacks that are impossible to conquer without taking damage. They can make a barren level that needs pixel-perfect use of a Super Mario World cape to access key locations. Players can also make levels in ways that were not previously possible: ghosts and Airship stages didn’t exist in Super Mario Bros. before, but they can now.
Super Mario Maker makes a player feel like they are part of something. Nintendo includes new levels pre-loaded in the game, but the Super Mario Maker experience truly blossoms when taken online. For the first time in Nintendo’s history, they have made a game that has a strong sense of community–except for Animal Crossing, which has community but also a narrower appeal. They have tried and failed to make their players feel connected to each other with their various messaging systems and online communities since the Nintendo DS days, but Super Mario Maker is the first time that playing with others from across the globe is an integral part of a Nintendo game. Super Mario Maker will be released in North America on Sept. 11, 2015.
Source News: Financial Post
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